Affliction & Conviction
by AngelicConquistador
Summary: Riku's a gambler, fighting to get some semblance of an adrenaline rush that left when Sora disappeared from his life. What will he do when Sora comes back to him, as his prize? And the redhead who won't leave him alone... Soriku, akuroku. ON HOLD.


**Rei**: The idea for this story wouldn't get out of my head at the time, so I started writing it in a notebook any chance I got in school. This first chapter will be VERY short but none the less I hope you'll enjoy it.

**Dedicated to**- katraa, who gave me the 'go-ahead' gesture. xD this is for you. (she's like the best soriku writer I've ever seen. xD)

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, and I am not making money off of writing this fanfic, I just like getting reviews from people telling me if I'm good at this stuff. XD

**Summary**: Riku is an infamous underground gambler who frequents the casino, The Underdrome. He competes in a prestigious game of poker, and manages to win. His prize? A chance to date a young man named Sora who must live with him for a month. But why is Sora a "prize" for a contest? Not to mention a league of men in black are after him… and Riku is determined to keep his prize. But when Sora's past comes calling, what is a guy to do? .soriku. .mentioned akuroku. .cleon. .tidusxnaminé. .akudemy. .saïxXxemnasXmarluxia. and many more

**Warnings**: I've never done one of these warnings before because I've never had a problem with any negative reviews, but please don't review if you're going to tell me you hate the pairing or yaoi/shonenai. It's a waste of a review and quite frankly, if you don't like the pairings, then please go find something else to read. And besides, why would you read this when it's in the riku and sora category? ..

**Note**: I used the same surnames as Katraa used because I couldn't think of any good ones, and plus they sound great. So you all know.

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**Affliction & Conviction- a soriku story- chapter o1**

"Speech"

'Thought'

At The UnderDrome-

Normal POV

_Thump-thump-thump._

Petals on flowers shuddered from the vibrant music coming from the casino near by. The beats marched in rhythm to Karada Riku's heart as he scanned his cards, belying his calm exterior. After a moment, he laid down his cards and spoke in a low, husky drawl,

"Royal Flush."

The other participants who varied from dark skinned individuals to nearly recognizable millionaires cursed when they realized they didn't have the best cards, and so lost. One of them silently frowned, looking _very_ displeased with the results. Clenching his fists, he quietly left the room with the other players while Riku stayed with the dealer.

The dealer in question grinned toothily and spread his skinny, lengthy arms in a congratulatory gesture; his wide, pallid face stretching over his prominent white cheekbones. "Well done again, Mr. Karada," he told Riku.

Riku just flicked back a lock of his silvery hair and smirked. "Enough of that Jack, we've known each other long enough for you to call me by my first name."

"Indeed, but you never know about all of these other stiffs here… Well anyway, great job!"

"Yes, thanks. When can I expect my payment?" Riku asked, crossing his arms (because they were more comfortable that way).

"Tomorrow, at six pm. Make sure you're there when your 'package' arrives." Jack made sure he wasn't smiling on the outside but on the inside he was grinning at the look on Riku's face.

"Very well then. I'll see you on my next business trip." Riku set a dark hat on his head that overshadowed his face, picked up his suit case, shoved a pair of stylish sunglasses on his nose and gave a mock bow before departing. (Tuxedo Riku… **squee**.)

Jack watched him go before turning to the shadows once no one else was around. He took a white piece of paper out of his pocket with something scrawled on it, and then handed it to a cloaked figure in the shadows. "That's the address. Have a good time with him, okay?"

The stranger's gloved hand reached forward to take the card, in doing so the seemingly youthful male voice said, "If what you say is true, then I guess I will." The stranger waved before leaving as well.

Jack sobered at some of the boy's behavior. 'You haven't recovered yet, have you Sora?' He thought a bit sadly. 'But Riku will be good for you. Take care Sora.'

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Still normal POV 

Meanwhile, when Riku had still been inside the Underdrome, the displeased man (which was the biggest understatement of the year) from before stepped into a dark alley and raised a cell phone to his pierced ear. He waited for the recipient of the call to answer, and after a few seconds a heavy-winded masculine voice greeted coolly,

"What is the result? Have you retrieved number XIII?"

Axel braced himself for a harsh reprimand, and inside thought sarcastically, 'Not even a 'hello' from this guy. I thought _some _people thought to work on proper greetings, but didn't let Xemnas know about it.' "No." (1)

There was a deadly pause, and then the harsh tone asked, "why not?"

"I **lost**." Axel's available fist clenched tightly. He was pissed enough as it was, he didn't need 'The Superior' to rub salt **and** pepper into the wound. (2)

"Failure was not an option, Axel." Xemnas had a trace of anger in his voice, not necessarily there but Axel knew- he knew that Xemnas expected him to lose- and this made him even angrier.

He slammed a fist into the wall, shattering a few bricks as well as injuring his hand, causing blood to seep out through rips in his gloves from cuts and lacerations on his skin. Even so, he paid no heed, instead lashing out at his boss.

"Damn it Xemnas! If you knew I was going to lose the game, then why didn't you send Luxord?!" Which was a pretty good point- everyone knew 'The Gambler of Fate' could kick anyone's butt at card games. Axel himself preferred violent, gory videogames, not card games. As he put it, he'd rather 'light the damn things on fire.'

"It was an experiment," was Xemnas' only answer.

"Let me guess- to see how loyal I am to the Organization compared to the others?" Axel asked scathingly, feeling his palms grow hot.

"You already put those feelings into effect concerning your… 'feelings' for number XIII, when you dared lay hands on Marluxia," this time Xemnas sounded murderous.

Axel snorted, knowing full well that Xemnas- or Mansex, as he liked to call him- was romantically involved with Marluxia. "Plant boy had it coming. He deserved what he got…" 'Especially since he tried to hurt him… that bastard.'

"Axel." Xemnas wasn't fooling around now. "Your behavior will not be tolerated if you continue to act as a fool. Find the boy, and bring him to me. And remember- his name is Sora." Not waiting for Axel's reply, he hung up.

Axel's teeth gritted as he barely held back a strangled yell. Instead, he settled for throwing his cell phone (which had burst into flames) at the wall, where it shattered into many pieces. Still unable to remain calm, Axel slammed his smoldering fist into the wall again. Ignoring the pain, Axel muttered, "Sora… Sora was…" He slumped to the ground, losing his mask and for the first time he looked defeated. "Roxas…" he sighed sadly.

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The next day, at Riku's house, at 5: 55 PM- 

Riku's POV

"Okay, my living room is clean, my room, the kitchen, the bathroom…" I thought out loud as I checked off items on my mental 'to-do' list. In the corner of my right eye, I could see my best friend Tidus making himself comfortable on the couch behind me while crossing his arms and setting his feet on the armrest, he looked at me and said,

"Dude, Riku, just chill. You're worrying too much over nothing and you'll wear yourself out." He ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair and continued, "You're just getting a prize, right?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Well if it's just a prize, then why are you straightening up?"

I sighed and put a lock of silver hair behind my ear. "I don't know. I guess I'm just nervous." I saw a mirror and grabbed a feather duster, seeing a bit of dirt I missed, so I started dusting hurriedly.

"Are you sure you don't have OCD?" Tidus asked me innocently.

I glared at him and threw a pillow at him, which landed smack dab in the middle of his face. "I don't…" then I paused and stared at the particularly decorative (and expensive) pillow. "Why did I get that anyway?"

Tidus peeled the pillow away from his face. "I have no idea," he remarked sarcastically.

I threw another pillow at him. "Moron…" The doorbell rang and I stiffened. "Quick, put the pillows away!" I shooed him away, went to open the door, and was greeted by the most wondrous sight.

There was a gorgeous, angelic looking young man standing before me. His hair was in a bizarre array of spikes in a rich cinnamon color, but it fit him well. His body frame was small and somewhat feminine in stature, but maybe concealed strength beneath that black, yellow, blue, and red clothing of his. And his eyes… his eyes were the most beautiful asset of all- a lucid sky blue shade that shone with cheerfulness… and something more?

"Hell, I presume your name is Karada Riku?" His voice was slightly boyish but handsome.

I nodded, speechless by the drop-dead cutie- 'did I just say cutie?' in front of me.

"My name's Kayaki Sora. I'm your grand prize."

End of chapter One

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**Rei**: I'm really sorry it's short, but there WILL be more and the chapters WILL get longer. I already have some of the next chapter written, so hopefully it won't take too long to write. XD;; 

o1- This was a reference to the Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories manga, where in the first volume the underground members Vexen, Zexion, and Lexaeus have a poster on the wall of their monthly objective, which was to give proper greetings. XD

o2- I thought pepper would make the wound hurt even more, like it does when you get pepper gas in your eyes or pepper up your nose (which is VERY uncomfortable). So there. XD

I hope you all enjoyed this and I would absolutely **adore** you if you left me some reviews… **hint hint nudge nudge** thanks for reading :3


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